Work and travel

1

Jens Notroff

Adventure in Greenland

We knew what we were in for because my friends and I had kayaked along Greenland’s wild coast before. But this time, a storm pushed us to our physical limits. We had difficulty making it back to land, but after a battle that lasted several hours, we reached a peninsula where we could spend the night. The wind was so strong that I feared our tents would tear. The next morning we woke up to no wind at all and an innocent blue sky.

2

Nadine Pungs

Alone in Iran

Never have I met such inquisitive people as I did in Iran. I spent 30 days traveling there – alone, but never lonely. No matter how little English people spoke, they always made a huge effort to communicate with me. They usually also invited me for dinner or a cup of tea. Once I visited a family in Kashan, in Isfahan province. We ate our meal sitting on the floor, and they wanted to know everything: where I was from, what I was doing in Iran, and most importantly, how I liked it there. They also had a big request: to please tell the Germans (my people back home) how wonderful their country is.

3

Gitti Müller

Healers, Hippies and Yogis

Ibiza is home to many dropouts from society, who have taught me a lot. During a yoga lesson in a woodland clearing, I pictured what it would be like to be a tree, and my perception of the sounds around me and the different shades of green intensified. It may sound strange, but that was one of the most beautiful moments I ever experienced. Seeing the world from a different perspective is what travel’s all about.

4

Susanne Maier

A Gorilla in Rwanda

Of course I was scared when the silverback came toward me. There was no glass and no fence between us, and he was just a few meters away. This happened in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. A moment before, I had heard his grunting calls and the hollow sound of him beating his breast, a kind of warning, but all I heard when he came through the undergrowth was a snapping of twigs. I was filled with a seething mixture of fear and fascination. It was one of those moments that make travel worthwhile – and one in which you simply have to trust that all will go well.

5

Norah Steiner

Sleepless in Tokyo

The Japanese capital is a great city for surprises because it is full of interesting things to discover – like Tsukiji fish market. I went there to see the tuna auction with a few other backpackers whom I had met at the hostel. We got up at 2 a.m., actually managed to get in, and then found ourselves in a gigantic hall full of tuna in the early hours of the morning. The auction itself was extremely short: The fish was sold within two minutes. Then it was time for breakfast – the best sushi in the world. It was definitely worth getting up so early!

6

Little Corn Island is the spitting image of the island from the series “Lost”: tropical, green and a long way from the mainland. Interestingly, no one I met knew anything about it before they arrived there by accident, and many never left again. Like the French twins who spontaneously decided to open a small hotel. Or the woman from the U.S. who recently married herself. Sound like something from TV? See – I told you.

7

Susanne Helmer

A trip through the Amercian Southwest

I don’t normally like to drive, but what better place to do so than on endless highways with never-ending panoramic views? One very special stop was Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona. I just couldn’t get enough of the patterns made by wind and water on the rocks – and their colors, ranging from pale orange to wine-red. I photographed everything, and with every click, I thought: “You’ll only be here once. Enjoy it!”